Grit Daily was on the scene at Collision Conference in Toronto. At the event, LG Nova revealed the future of LG. The former is the division tasked with spurring the parent company’s efforts in open innovation. On June 20, 2022, the company announced the Select 20 winners of their global challenge. Dr. Sokwoo Rhee, LG Electronics senior vice president for innovation and head of LG NOVA, is the head of the program. Rhee reports to LG’s CEO, William Cho. This organizational hierarchy underscores the significance of his role. Without executive level support, most innovation programs collapse before they even get off the ground.

“As a company, we make $65 billion in revenues, but we can’t sit on that. We recognized that we needed to make a quantum leap.” ~Dr. Rhee

Innovation spans the Metaverse – Health – Energizing Mobility

Three categories were considered for investment: Connected Health, Metaverse, and Energizing Mobility. Approximately 1,400 companies applied to the solicitation posted for the Mission for the Future contest, a. Participation was global: about half the companies were from North America and the other half from Europe and Asia. Representation was reflective of the dynamic world of entrepreneurship. Although LG Nova’s challenge did not stipulate diversity as a requirement for application, the founders selected represent a broad swath across genders, age, and ethnicities.

The down-selection process was intense, highly structured, and required a large team to sift through. “Some companies fell out quickly,” said Rhee. “They were just too early in their life cycle and barely at the inception stage whereas others were clearly not interested in doing things differently.” By the time that the innovation team at LG Nova had narrowed it down to the Final 50, months had gone by. Dr. Rhee shared that each company was fully vetted through extensive conversation with his commercialization team.

The selection process

Even the losers are winners with this program. Only the Select 20 each received a cheque for $100,000, for a $2 million total investment. However, the other 30 companies remain an integral part of LG Nova’s innovation ecosystem. Dr. Rhee shared, “We’ll continue to meet with them and work together to advance new ideas; it’s an ecosystem play.” That’s a critical differentiator in their open innovation program versus others: they recognize the value of an innovation community to foster learning and growth.

Prior to launching the global challenge, Dr. Rhee traveled the globe to meet with the leaders of accelerators and some exceptional investors. As an entrepreneur himself, and an engineer, Rhee understood what founders needed and searched the world for the best ideas to bring them together into LG Nova’s open innovation program. To maximize success, Rhee assembled a corporate development team focused on M&A and Joint Ventures, a dedicated commercial team, a partnership team of success managers, and a team of engineers to work alongside the founders and their teams.

Open innovation by LG

The result is that LG Nova has created three new commercial verticals spurred by their identification and investment in the Select 20 startups. These verticals include: health, sustainable energy, and the metaverse. Rhee elaborated, “We’re building a new engineering and business development team around these external technologies.” The elite circle of winners will be mentored and sponsored by NOVA Capital Alliance. A Top 10 down-selection is on the horizon. Each winner will have the unprecedented opportunity to build their businesses together with LG. Dr. Rhee has labeled this opportunity as an “accelerated path to success.”

The Select 20 winners

Congratulations to the Selected 20 startups in LG Nova’s inaugural Mission for the Future Global Challenge. The Winners in connected health are: MayaMD, Inc., LifeNome, Mindset Medical, XRHealth, TRIPP, Inc., NeuroTrainer, and medZERO. In the metaverse category, winners include: iQ3Connect, Snickerdoodle Labs, and YBVR. Within the energizing mobility vertical, SparkCharge, Driivz , I-EMS Group, Ltd., Kardome, and Faction. Additional winners were named for their technology in smart lifestyles and innovation for impact. These include: a*kin, Digbi, and Chefling.

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A San Francisco-based tech reporter hosted one of the most provocative panel discussions at the event. “Moving Past Male, Pale, and Stale: Increasing Diversity in VC” as a session title needs no further description. The panelists, Charles Hudson (Precursor Ventures), Jamison Hill (Base10), and Janine Sickmeyer (Overlooked Ventures) represented BIPOC and women in tech. When asked why there was still less than 10% representation of women writing cheques – and half of that people of color – Hudson had the most succinct response, “It’s a math problem. VC is a small ecosystem and it’s difficult to break into the network.”

Although male founders outnumbered those of other genders, there was representation by non-males. Not all female founders, or those who identify as women, exhibiting at the show are featured below. Some women in tech were not at their booths when Grit Daily News was present, and hence, could not be interviewed.

Boosting productivity

Nylas, a company specializing in productivity software, was rolling out new branding and a significantly larger booth space. The company’s founder, Christine Spang, proudly commented, “It’s been nine years and we’ve grown into some new branding and this new space.” By connecting data across communications channels, their IT solution keeps the focus on security and privacy. Spang was adamant, “We’re not selling data,” which is a clear differentiator versus some others in the field.

“e-Communications data is an untapped data source,” she said, “If you can connect it to your business processes via seamless integration, you can move those conversations into a first-party data experience with transparent permissions, which offers the personalization that people are looking for.” When asked what the primary industry applications of the communications APIs were, Spang shared that her team’s expertise in third-party certifications, like Gmail, helps their customers navigate several areas. These include developing CRMs, recruiting tools, and solutions in real estate. She emphasized, “But application can be much broader and really apply to any industry.”

Embracing a diversity framework

Jordana Matsos (hirequity Recruitment Agency Inc.) offered some insights into the bias that women and members of the LGBTQIA+ community face around recruiting. They’ve essentially flipped the switch as a recruiting company by focusing on their candidates, rather than on clients. “We train our candidates to get them fully prepared for their interviews in the job placements we source.” Matsos added, “If they’re not a good fit for one job, we find them another client.”

“I was in corporate for 20 years,” she opined, “and I continue to work with corporations, but many don’t have a diversity framework. We do! And we’re HR PCA certified.” That framework is particularly important for the diverse sales and marketing talent that her organization represents.

When asked about her message to clients and how they can overcome the staffing shortage and be more attractive to candidates, she was candid. “If there’s one thing that you need to do as a company, that’s train your new staff. Plus, you need to onboard them properly. Embrace diversity so that your company benefits from fresh thinking.”

Matsos then offered a few examples of the ”colorful” (that’s code for wholly inappropriate) comments that clients said using offensive terminology for diverse candidates to categorize them. Some clients have even specified the physical characteristics that they want – or don’t want – in their diverse candidates. Indeed, there’s an opportunity for some training on both sides here.

Enabling global mobility

Nomad Coliving is is the first Canadian co-living space. Its founder, Maria Kinoshita, has capitalized on the new mode of working that makes “home wherever your laptop is.” With 16 guest suites, entrepreneurs can network as well as collaborate. Shared core spaces help reduce environmental impact and embrace the increasingly popular lifestyle of digital nomads. Kinoshita said, “We’ve even sparked a few marriages!”

DECUREMED is a telemedicine company specializing in immigrant’s care. Dewi Kreckman recognized the need for immigrants to have access to affordable healthcare, medical records, 24/7 support, and a list of providers that catered to their local community. And, as many immigrants do not have credit cards or health insurance when they arrive in the USA, the platform enables alternative payment approaches such as digital wallets.

Designed for women

Innovation isn’t limited to B2B SaaS companies. Apricotton bras are the only ones that grow as girls grow. The flexible sizing and adjustability features enable tweens to teens to progress through puberty without the waste and expense of buying numerous bras that quickly become ill-fitting as girls age. Jessica Miao is the company’s founder.

Claire Ongcangco (Parlon) offers beauty and wellness services on a single platform. The contents have been curated for residents of the Philippines. Buyers can discover, book, and purchase salon and wellness deals.

Monday Girl is an all-in-one networking platform that helps professional women get started in their careers through mentorship, community, and education. Istiana Bestari is the company’s founder. Bestari highlighted how the company was originally founded as an events-planning service, “But COVID required us to pivot.” The company is now growing, particularly with membership from the FinTech and marketing communities.

Lifestyles and life cycles

Aurelie Biehler (Memoria) handles the difficult decisions required after a loved one has passed. Through a combination of on-demand services, such as floral displays, and consulting, the end-to-end platform enables bereaved families to make funeral arrangements. “Our marketplace contains curated vendors,” she said, “we aim to make the death experience a little better for grieving families.”

Lauralee Guthrie founded Mindku to help people manage all the stress they’re experiencing in the workplace. The company name is drawn from Hawaiian culture where “ku” means stillness. Guthrie’s platform is integrated with Microsoft® Teams and Slack so that employees can tune into moments of mindfulness and meditation as they need to.

Vegpal is a vegan social media app connecting people with similar interests. Find someone to dine with or find a place to dine. Their platform has been designed for live interaction and participation at events.

Artificial Intelligence applications

Here’s a social media app that has been designed to protect public-facing staff and brands. Artificial Intelligence is applied to help detect and counter online hate-speech and aggression. Jacqueline Comer, the founder of areto labs, pointed out that, “Social media is a workplace for many people, and it’s becoming increasingly toxic. Companies need to protect their staff from this toxicity.”

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Grit Daily News is on the scene! Here are some highlights from the first full day of the event. Today is also National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada, so we’ve chosen to lead with some innovative efforts by Indigenous founders.

Indigenous Representation

Brian Ritchie is the founder and CEO of Kama.ai. Artificial intelligence (AI), largely in the form of chat bots, has application in just about every industry today. One of the areas that AI can have tremendous impact is in mental health. Ritchie is a member of the Chapleau Creek Cree Tribe and recently conducted a pilot in healthcare. With the goal of impacting community well-being, Kama has developed technology that engages with people on a human level based on personal values. The pilot showed that people responded favorably, felt connected to their community, and felt less lonely.

Plato Testing is putting Indigenous people to work. Thus far, over 200 jobs have been generated as a result of their training and services platform which provides talent to tech companies seeking quality assurance testing for their software. According to the company’s founder, Keith McIntosh, “This is a $40 billion market where less than 1% is represented by Indigenous talent. We’re doing QA testing today and looking to grow into cybersecurity.”

A Word from the Mayor

Toronto Mayor John Tory addressed the audience in an open Q&A. With Toronto now being recognized as the third-largest tech hub worldwide, the Mayor expressed his enthusiasm for the future potential of the city he governs. He highlighted two reasons for their success as a tech hub: 1) excellent education within the province at the K-12 and post-secondary level; 2) a partnership-based approach which brings government, educators, and businesses together to not only create jobs and drive revenues into the city, but to also generate social dividends. “As I’ve been touring various cities,” the mayor shared, “I’ve been asked why tech likes Toronto. Our values are stable here, there are no corrosive debates about whether someone should have equal rights.” Numerous questions from the audience probed on the homeless situation in the city: the mayor responded with a general plan that offers more personalized support to the individuals in need.

Women in Tech

Women in tech were well represented on the stage and in the startup exhibition hall. Some startups of note include Thymia, Xare, Localyze, and PokPok. Xare, under the leadership of Padmini Gupta, the company’s co-founder and CEO, aims to enable the 4.5 billion people on the planet who don’t work yet control $25 Trillion of the spending. The software enables people to share their credit cards with each other, set purchase limits, and track spending. They are currently the largest global fintech company in the world with nearly two million users. Dr. Cindy Hovington founded PokPok out of a personal need to offer valuable screen time to toddlers: their games inspire creativity. Emilia Molimpakis, PhD is the CEO and co-founder of Thymia which has tapped into the mental health challenge faced by society today. By combining neuroscience with AI, their video games can assess fatigue, stress, depression, and other indicators of poor mental health. Hanna Asmussen, the co-founder and CEO of Localyze, founded the company to streamline visa and travel applications for people on the move and working abroad.

The Investment Perspective

From the investment side, most of the panelists stressed that they remained optimistic, but the trends tell a different story. In general, the later the stage a company is in its growth cycle, the less favorable current conditions are for securing investment. In the “Hard Truths” panel discussion featuring Villi Iltchev (Two Sigma), Beth Ferreira (FirstMark), Logan Bartlett (Redpoint), and Matt Carratt (CRV), moderated by Katie Roof (Bloomberg), the collective advice was to “cut your burn rates.” Series A and B rounds have slowed, valuations are nowhere near their 20-30x peak at the height of the bubble a few months ago, and deals are taking longer to close. Startups are also getting fewer term sheets to consider: investors are allocating their funds as dry powder for follow-on investments with companies already in their portfolios. Down-rounds were forecast by the panel to begin trending.

The situation appears somewhat more promising for seed-stage companies. In a panel discussion moderated by Grit Daily News editor Jordan French, Jenny Fielding (The Fund), Jon Soberg (MS&AD Ventures), and Magaly Charbonneau (Inovia), embraced optimism yet repeatedly referenced the current “shaky times.” The investors advised startups to “grow into their valuations and conserve cash.” Conservatism is not a surprising trend given how second-time founders and YC startups were “getting huge valuations with no real product.” Key metrics of note include how investors are now seeking to invest when a company has 18 months – and up to 2.5 years (according to Inovia) – of runway between raises. With deals taking longer, the panel advised founders to plan wisely. However, they also encouraged startups to keep going because investors are still writing cheques: The Fund wrote 20 cheques in the past quarter alone.

As Day 1 here at Collision Conference winds down, one thing is certain: there’s no end of innovation out there. Startups take grit. Persistence can pay off. Check back tomorrow for more highlights.

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This is a MUST-listen episode. Genecia Alluora, founder of Soul Rich Woman, will inspire and motivate you. At the brink of death, on the ledge of a 10-story building, she changed her life. Her mother pulled her back from the edge and said, “Turn your mess into your message.” And she’s never looked back.

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Yuliia Mamonov is the Head of Content for Lemon.io, an innovative platform connecting clients to software developers on demand. Here’s something you may not know – Lemon is based in Ukraine. Hear a first-hand account about some of the struggles trying to navigate the Russian war of aggression – and please do whatever you can to support Lemon and their staff.

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Hair loss? Hair transplant? The field has shifted far from the era of late night infomercials touting the latest miracle cream. Andrew Kashian and his team at Solve Clinics are working hard to make the industry safer and more transparent to enable consumers to make better choices. Most entrepreneurs on our show struggle with growth – Andrew is struggling with hyper-growth and shares his inights on managing that.

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Jim Barrood is the founder of Innovation+ and he’s always on the cutting edge of what’s new. The latest? Psychodelics – an industry which is still years behind the CBD industry but there’s a lot of research in this area.

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David Lokshin – and his father – have taken a road less traveled in entrepreneurship. With tenacity times ten, they adopted a “missionaries not mercenaries” philosophy until they found product market fit then never looked back. Trace is a wildy successful personalized sports memories solution: why watch every move by every member of the team when you only want to see your child or the one player you’re coaching? SEE: https://traceup.com/

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Justin Huddy founded Radius Care to help family members manage the care of their loved ones. What’s even more exceptional is that Justin has made his app free; it ties into Medicare and helps people find the most cost effective care solutions. Justin shares his thoughts on what he would have done differently as entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey.

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Jim Kniest is a gamer, software developer, and entrepreneur. For the last five years, he’s been building a unique app which helps people discover their sexual play styles. You can find his app, Halos & Sins, on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09R9BHFPR

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